Paper short abstract:

Synthetic chemicals (like pesticides, BPAs, plastics) are often regarded as 'unnatural'. The talk clarifies the conept of 'unnaturalness' from a philosophical perspective. It further developes an ecological understanding of the role of synthetic chemicals in the 'natural' environment.

Paper long abstract:

The release of synthetic chemicals (like pesticides, BPAs, plastics) into the environment is one of the six planetary boundaries that 'humanity' has crossed. In public debate about synthetic substances the concept of 'unnaturalness' plays an important role, depicting chemicals as 'foreign' actors in the environment. Strikingly, the science of chemistry has a very different understanding of what 'unnatural' means, reaching back to its scientific tradition in the modern period. Quite often, this leads to conflict in public debates about the status of synthetic chemicals in the environment.

In my talk I outline the different concepts of 'unnaturalness' that the public versus the chemical sciences have. I highlight the ecological shortcomings of the modern chemical understanding of 'nature'. I further try to reconcile intra-chemical discourse with public critique and environmental concern, primarily on a philosophical level.

A constant emphasis of the talk lies on the fact that chemical substances have an ambiguous stance in the natural world. They are neither alive, like plants, bacteria or fungi; yet they pursue our daily lives with an uncontrollable autonomy that makes us perceive them as vivid actors instead of 'dead', passive matter. This ontological and phenomenological ambiguity gives rise to the appearance of chemicals as 'intruders' into our bodies, foods and environments. The debate about the 'unnaturalness' of synthetic chemicals, I argue, must therefore also include a theory of 'foreignness'/'alienness' in order to holistically understand the perception of synthetic chemicals as 'unnatural enemies'.